Various embodiments described herein relate generally to appliances for evacuating a physically-compromised person, and more particularly for appliances for evacuating a handicapped and/or elderly person from a fire or flood emergency. Such an appliance can be kept nearby to the physically-compromised person so as to be readily available if an emergency evacuation situation arises.
Moving a handicapped and/or elderly person can be challenging in normal situations, and can be especially challenging in emergency situations. A handicapped/elderly person may not be able to walk, or even crawl, and thereby may require considerable assistance to move from location to location. Some handicapped/elderly persons may also weigh significantly more than what can be managed by their caregiver(s). An emergency situation, such as a fire, often complicates the situation, for example, by adding smoke and heat as additional obstacles to be dealt with. In a fire emergency, it may be necessary to stay close to the floor so as to avoid exposure to smoke. One existing method for a care giver to get a patient out of a burning home or care facility today is to put a sheet or blanket on the floor, put the patient on it, and drag the patient out. To drag the patient out, the care giver must stand, albeit somewhat bent over at the waist. However, if the smoke gets below the care giver's face so that the care giver can no longer breathe, the care giver may abandon the patient, get on the floor, and crawl out as fast as possible. Such a reaction may be understandable given the situation. Imagine the difficulty of getting a relatively heavy patient out of a burning building this way. In addition to a fire emergency, a flooding emergency can also present additional obstacles to be dealt with when evacuating a handicapped and/or elderly person.
Recent emergencies, such as major hurricanes, have resulted in the injury or death of handicapped and/or elderly persons that may have been avoided if more effective means were available to evacuate such persons from danger. Accordingly, it is desirable to develop more effective means to evacuate a physically-compromised person(s) from danger, particularly from all-to-common emergencies like fires and floods.